ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the creation and evolution of Brazil's aircraft manufacturer from a small government-owned enterprise to a privately-owned world leader in the production of regional jets. The rise of Brazil's aircraft manufacturer, EMBRAER, was not the result of the efforts of one entrepreneur, but rather the result of institutional developments which brought forth entrepreneurial efforts. By 1936 Brazilian companies had begun the serial production of trainers for flying clubs. Both the army and a number of private groups showed an early interest in acquiring aviation technology through joint ventures with foreign firms. A few private firms turned out commercial aircraft from the 1940s to the 1960s. The Companhia Paulista Aeronautica (CAP) produced a few hundred single piston-engine planes that were bought mainly by Brazilian flight clubs. EMBRAER began exporting airplanes in 1975. It sold five EMB 110 Bandeirantes to the Uruguayan Air Force and marketed the EMB 200 Ipanema crop duster to Uruguay's Agricultural Ministry.
